The four-diode bridge is the default rectifier topology for a reason, but it is not the only arrangement in the family. Center-tapped full-wave circuits, voltage-doubler stages, and common-cathode diode pairs all appear in real power supplies, and each one trades diodes, transformer windings, and stress in a different way. Understanding the family — what the … Read more
A bridge rectifier inside a power supply fails in one of a handful of ways, and the evidence is usually visible before a single meter lead touches the board. Burn patterns around the leads, a body split by thermal stress, a rail that sags after being fine, or smoke that only appears under load — … Read more
Transistors are the diodes that never quite behave like diodes. A transistor datasheet describes a three-terminal device with gain, saturation, and switching behavior, and the multimeter test that works for a plain diode only takes you part of the way. Still, a surprising amount of transistor diagnosis reduces to one model — the transistor seen … Read more
Calculate the input network before assigning an output-current capability to a pre-biased transistor. This page works a stated R1/R2 example at 3.3 V and 5 V and shows which guaranteed conditions still need checking. For the basic operating principle, use the pre-biased transistor introduction. Last updated: October 16, 2026 Identify which resistor network the datasheet … Read more
Compare small-signal diode switching speed, recovery test conditions, capacitance and leakage, with verified 1N4148, BAS16 and BAV70 practical examples.
A MOSFET datasheet quotes an RDS(on) at 25 °C, and the part on your board runs at 100 °C — where its on-resistance has climbed to nearly double and the conduction loss has grown by the square of any current increase. The temperature that raises its own resistance is the central reality of MOSFET thermal … Read more
A Schottky diode is supposed to be a low-voltage part — the silicon Schottky’s barrier is low, its reverse voltage is modest, and its leakage climbs with temperature. So the existence of a 1700 V SiC Schottky barrier diode (SBD) looks like a contradiction until the material is changed. Silicon carbide carries the low forward … Read more
Silicon carbide comes in two discrete forms a designer must choose between — the SiC Schottky barrier diode (SBD) and the SiC MOSFET — and the choice is not about which material is better but which device the duty needs. A diode conducts in one direction and blocks the other; a MOSFET switches on command. … Read more
Silicon carbide MOSFETs are presented as the future of power electronics, and a large share of the enthusiasm is not backed by the loss math. The honest picture is that SiC MOSFETs improve exactly three things — conduction loss at high temperature, switching loss at high dv/dt, and voltage class — and every other claim … Read more
Lightning does not have to strike your building to damage the electronics inside it. A strike a mile away couples energy into the power lines, the ground, and the structures that carry it to your board through doors a designer never considered — the mains input, the telephone or network line, the ground rod, and … Read more
A MOSFET and an IGBT can both switch high power, and the choice between them is not about which is “better” but about where the duty sits. The MOSFET wins at moderate voltage and high frequency; the IGBT wins at high voltage and high current where its lower conduction loss and simpler structure take over. … Read more
A USB port is one of the most ESD-exposed points on a product because it is touched, plugged, and unplugged constantly, bringing a charged human body or cable near the connector. The protection decision is not “does the port need ESD diodes” but “where on the connector do they go, and which lines actually need … Read more
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